Idiots at work

[Byron Quick]

One of my friends is half American and half Turkish. His father was USAF. His mother Turkish. He was raised bilingual from birth. His fatherr would only respond to English. His mother would only respond to Turkish. At six years of age, he was sent to a Turkish elementary school. Then, his parents would only respond to English at home. He attended high school in the US. Then his parents would only respond to Turkish at home. As a result, he is a native speaker in both Turkish and English. He's been raised in both faiths...Christian and Muslim. He speaks Arabic with a Turkish accent.

Wearing blue jeans and a plaid shirt...you would think...Southern white boy. Put him in a paiir of MC Hammer pants, a white shirt, and some soft soled slippers...Middle Eastern man...and how.

Guess what, folks? CIA wouldn't hire him in 1994...he didn't have a bachelor's degree. Excuse me? He had qualifications outdistancing any number of doctorate degrees not even considering bacheolor's degrees.

He tried to join the Army after being turned down by the CIA. Army wouldn't take him. He had plates on his humerus and radius where both bones had been repaired. The Army would take him if he got both plates removed...he passed on that for some reason.

Post 9/11. The Army takes him. He's thirty one. He gets an age waiver fore Special Forces traiining.. He graduates. And then they will not deploy him in his MOS because he's "too old." What's up with these people?


Everthing post 9/11 is hearsay. But the initial application and replies from the CIA andf the US Army...I was an eyewitness to the response.

 

[Spot77]

Trying to make sense of the government's decisions is like pulling your teeth out one at a time with a pair of tweezers.

Good luck to your friend.

 

[mtnbkr]

Yup. You can provide the govt with everything they want and they'll still turn you down for some BS reason. I've been in govt contracting for 4 years now and I've seen contracts awarded to companies that can't meet the published security requirements while those who can are snubbed for a variety of excuses.

Chris

 

[artherd]

Surprised the CIA would not take him honestly.

Perhaps he just wasn't needed at the time. Trying to make sense of governmental hiring practices is an excercise in insanity.

Perhaps he should re-apply.

 

[jnojr]

When I tried to join the Army, I knew my eyes would be an issue, so I brought my prescription with me. The MEPS eye doctor said it didn't have enough information, and they sent me to the oldest living human being on Earth for another eye test, which was all screwed up. I told them "Let me go back to my eye doctor, get the info you need, and bring it back". I did so. The MEPS doctor looks at my file, says "There are too many eye exams here. Disqualified." And that was that.

So, yeah, there's no figuring out government decisions...

 

[Calhoun]

When dealing with the govt. you can leave the last 2 words out of your subject line. The first one says it all.

Cal

 

[griz]

There are too many eye exams here

Maybe they figured you had too many eyes? Of course thay should have then hired you for the eyes in the back of your head.

Anyway, it does sound like the wheels of goverment ran over you.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Just tell him to keep working the system... eventually you find someone who has both common sense and the ability to make things happen. Though it can take awhile occasionally...

 

[MrMurphy]

There was a major in his forties? I think, who gave up his commission, went to SF school as a sergeant (he was a doctor.. he became an SF Medic) and deployed to Afghanistan, because that's what he wanted to do.

Apparently they did a lot of good, whacked a bunch of Talibaners, and helped a lot of people, but he was killed in a traffic accident.

At 31, he's not "too old". For Special Forces/SWAT/etc that's actually about the normal age.. old enough to be experienced, still young enough to be fit and do crazy stuff. Even if he doesn't make it to the middle east, being a SF guy in the US isn't too bad.

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

Once you are in the Army, sense flies out the window.

I ETSed in 1987 from and an Arabic language MOS with...shall I say....some special training. In 1990 I interrupted college to go back in because they needed bodies in that field. I was directed to join a Reserve unit and then make my requests. I did it monthly. Not even a response. I ended up with a Korean language unit stateside and bailed after the war. Screw'em.

 

[Ivy Mike]

Your friend would get snapped up by the IDF in a heartbeat.

 

[Yooper]

"Military Intelligence" is an oxymoron.

 

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

The levels of Intelligence in this world,

Devine
Human
Animal
Vegetable
Central